PA S S I O N
AND
OF NURSING
POWER
UNLEASHING THE
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BET T Y IRENE MOORE
SCHOOL OF NURSIN G
4610 X Street, Suite 4202
Sacramento, CA 95817
BET T Y IRENE MOORE
SCHOOL OF NURSIN G
wasn’t sure
what to do with his life after high
school, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army
to “grow up and figure it out.”
Serving as a medic for four-anda-half years, Morales worked with
health-care professionals who made
sure people who needed care received
it, regardless of their environment
or circumstance. He was especially
inspired by the level of care provided
by physician assistants and realized
he’d found his life purpose. He now
plans his future as a physician assistant
providing community health care.
The California State University,
Sacramento, graduate looked at a
in the community is important,”
variety of schools, but what he found
he explained.
in the program offered through the
The UC Davis physician assistant
Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing
program is unique, Morales said,
at UC Davis best fit his vision.
because the students learn with
“I chose the physician assistant
other health students, including nurse
program at UC Davis because it is
practitioners, medical and nursing
community oriented,” Morales says. “I
students — the only program in the
knew I would have an opportunity to
nation to do so.
work in my community right away.”
“By learning together, physician
The Master of Health Services —
assistant and nurse practitioner
Physician Assistant Studies is one of
students are exposed to both medical
four graduate degree programs that
and nursing perspectives prior to the
make up the Nursing Science and
clinical training for their profession,”
Health-Care Leadership Graduate
said Debra Bakerjian, senior director
Degree Program. The programs are
for the two programs.
led by an interprofessional team of
The physician assistant and nurse
more than 50 faculty members from
practitioner programs
disciplines including
focus on developing
nursing, medicine, health
“I chose the
providers who are
informatics, nutrition,
physician
prepared to deliver
biostatistics, pharmacy,
assistant
care in areas where
sociology and public
it’s needed most, thus
health.
program at UC
expanding access for
“UC Davis really
Davis because
a growing population,
makes it clear that
it is community
Bakerjian said.
people there collaborate
oriented.”
with others, that working
—Physician assistant student
C H R IST OP H E R M OR ALES
Christopher Morales
Physician assistant students Jonathan Sanz, left,
and Christopher Morales, middle, and medical
student Madeleine Hanks, right, work together at
the Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic in Sacramento.
“With the implementation of the
Affordable Care Act, more than 6
million Californians gained access to
health care,” Bakerjian said.
The UC Davis School of Medicine
Community and Family Medicine
Department first offered a physician
assistant graduate certificate program
in 1982 through a unique partnership
with Stanford University. In 2013, the
program was reconfigured into the
27-month master’s-degree program
provided through the nursing school.
About 67 percent of UC Davis
physician assistant graduates work
in underserved areas. Nearly 70
percent of graduates work in primary
care, compared to significantly lower
national averages of between 30 and
40 percent. For Morales, this emphasis
on community care is essential, along
with the opportunity to begin providing
that care early as a student.
“As a student, I can begin hands-on
care right away,” Morales said.
“That’s a fabulous opportunity.”
While an undergraduate student,
Morales volunteered at the Joan Viteri
Memorial Clinic in Sacramento, a
student-run clinic led by UC Davis
medical students that provides health
care to intravenous drug users, sex
workers and their families. After
enrolling in the physician assistant
program in summer 2013, Morales
immediately got to work developing a
path for physician assistant and nurse
practitioner students to also serve in
leadership positions at the clinic.
Now, several Nursing Science
and Health-Care Leadership students
volunteer at the student-run clinics,
where they learn and deliver primarycare services along with medical
students, together improving access to
care in underserved communities.
For Morales, UC Davis is the
one that provided an opportunity to
become the physician assistant he
dreams to be.
“No one offers a program like this,”
he said.
Once he graduates in 2015 and
earns his license, Morales says he
hopes to not only continue working
in the Sacramento region, but maybe
even someday return to the Army and
once again serve his nation, this time
as a physician assistant.
Morales is the 2014-15 recipient of
the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing
General Scholarship Fund which
supports his education at the school.
to share this or
contact us with any comments or questions.
We welcome your feedback. For more
information, visit nursing.ucdavis.edu or
contact the School of Nursing at
916-734-2145 or at
BettyIreneMooreSON@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
P L E AS E F E E L F RE E